Americanas: Company delays payments to suppliers – 01/23/2023 – Market

The relationship between Americanas and its suppliers has always been very difficult, say businessmen interviewed by the Sheet who worked with the company. With the company’s entry into judicial recovery, last Thursday (19), the problem should get worse – suppliers are more than 90% of the retailer’s 16,000 creditors, experts estimate.

The company has been in crisis since it announced, on the 11th, that it had found “accounting inconsistencies” worth R$ 20 billion in its balance sheets.

According to businesses that sell the most diverse types of products to Americanas, the company already had the habit of asking for a long term for payment of the items it purchased. And yet, delays were routine.

It is common for suppliers to give a deadline for buyers to pay, which usually varies between 30 and 90 days.

Businessman Marcelo Brandão, who supplied toys to Americanas for almost a decade, however, says that the company even asked for a 120-day deadline to pay for what it bought, and even so the delays were constant.

“When it expired, they asked for more time, and they only paid when they sent a new order. This is a very violent practice, especially for small industries”, says Brandão.

The businessman admits that he ended up putting this difficult relationship with Americanas in the price of products. “I got to charge 40% to 50% more than the price practiced with other customers, already putting the delays in payments into the account.”

For 24 years, he ran Latoy Brinquedos, located in southern Bahia, which he sold last year to a business group.

Years before selling his factory, he stopped supplying Americanas, in a decision he classifies as difficult. “I earned BRL 600,000 a month, and I had bills receivable from Americanas that totaled between BRL 300,000 and BRL 400,000.” He claims that managing cash flow in this scenario has always been a challenge.

“We don’t have many big competitors from Americanas. But I’ve never had major problems with other companies. Amazon, for example, has a completely digital system, and payments were always made on time,” he says.

Another businessman, who managed companies that supplied clothing items to Americanas and also prefers not to be identified, says that the company asked for a 90-day period to pay for the items purchased, and unilaterally extended this period to up to 240 days, or six months. .

He says that Americanas came to represent around 35% of the total revenue of R$ 100 million a year, in one of the companies he commanded.

When asked to comment on the reports, Americanas, through its press office, sent a note distributed to suppliers, signed by João Guerra, the company’s current president.

In it, the retailer points out that it has a “very solid” cash position, and ensures that it will continue to pay its commitments and obligations “on the agreed terms.”

An executive from a large Americanas supplier, who prefers not to be identified, accuses the retailer of never having given priority to an ethical posture, and says that late payment was a company policy, affecting large and small partners.

He also claims that he has friends who rent properties that house retailer stores, and have not received the amounts owed for months.

As it is a large customer, it is common for suppliers to be willing to make concessions. The reports, however, claim that Americanas used its position to adopt a premeditated management model to gradually lead the supplier into a trap.